Pedophile: Crossing Boundaries
by smallwoodlandplant
Summary: Itachi, a 19 year-old ANBU, and Sakura, a 12-year-old almost Chunin. The relationship between the two is unknown as they try and make themselves just friends while avoiding the heart break that's bound to come. :Non-Massacre: :ItaSaku:
1. Prologue

**Pedophile**

**By wasup113**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, but the plot is mine.

**Special Thanks To: **Juniper11 for beta-ing this.

**Summary: **_[Based off of my one-shot/drabble; Pedophile] [Non-Massacre] _Crossing invisible lines and breaking unbreakable hearts, Itachi and Sakura are confused. Itachi, a 19 year-old ANBU, and Sakura, a 12-year-old almost Chunin. The relationship between the two is unknown as they try and make themselves just friends while avoiding the heart break that's bound to come. The line between helping someone and hurting them never seemed so thin. _[Pairing: Sakura X Itachi]_

_..._

_Memories we once shared seem forgotten in your eyes_

_..._

_A beautiful delicate red ribbon embroidered in silver dangled from Itachi hands as the thirteen year old made his way to where a small girl with pink hair sat on a bench. _

_Hearing his footsteps, she lifted her head, a smile coming onto her face as she saw Itachi. She knew immediately who it was even though the beaming sun blinded her slightly, the way he moved—as well as his dark hair—gave him away._

_"Ne, Ne, 'Tachi-kun!" She said, getting up and skipping towards the boy._ _Large green eyes peered up at him in excitement that she barely contained._

_Chuckling slightly, rare for the boy even then, Itachi kneeled down so he was making eye contact with Sakura. "Sakura, it's your birthday, right?"_

_Nodding enthusiastically, her pink tresses flying about her face, she said, "Yep! Today I'm six!" She held out her fingers, a goofy grin on her face, and let her companion count them. She looked proud of her achievement which made him all the more glad he had sought her out. _

_He didn't bother to ask why she was sitting alone, already knowing why_. _Instead_, _he_ _held out the ribbon, and watched as her smile widened. "I think this will look good on you." He said to her, watching as she excitedly put it on._

_"Thank you 'Tachi-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her arms up and wrapping them around the boy._

_Giving a barely audible laugh, he patted her on the head._

...

Opening her eyes quickly, Sakura sat up in bed. Rubbing her head trying to get rid of the memories she gazed groggily around her room. A frown grew on her lips and seemed etched on her face as she thought of her dream. She hadn't known back then that slowly she would come to call him by Itachi-san. That he would smile and laugh less and less making both objects seem like a distant memory.

Life was bitter that way, she knew that now. She would never wear that ribbon after that day. A few weeks after that Ino had given her another one. A ribbon of cheap quality that was fairly scratchy. It still reminded her of the one he had given her, the one she that would never leave her room, even if sometimes it seemed to beg her to wear it, but every time she picked it up it made her remember how far away they really were from each other.

She hadn't thought he'd act like she had never looked up to him when they were young-like him spending days with her, teaching her things like the friend he was, never happened.

_It was like he had forgotten it all._

She allowed herself to believe that he had only pitied her because she lacked a clan, for her dumb little crush on Sasuke, for her being a friendless little freak. Sakura knew that even though Itachi Uchiha was an okay guy, that didn't mean he cared about little girls.

Slipping into her bed of white blankets, she allowed them to smother her partly. The heat of the blankets enveloped her and she closed her eyes soaking in their warmth, trying not to think of the past, of the memories of her younger years that plagued her once more.

Finally, somewhere between ten minutes and ten hours, her mind settled and sent her into a feeling-less abyss.


	2. Chaoter One

**Pedophile**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, but the plot is mine.

**Special Thanks To: **Juniper11 for beta-ing this.

**Note: **Thank-you to everyone who reviewed on the Prolouge and/or favorited/put on alert.

**Summary: **_[Based off of my one-shot/drabble; Pedophile] [Non-Massacre] _Crossing invisible lines and breaking unbreakable hearts, Itachi and Sakura are confused. Itachi, a 19 year-old ANBU, and Sakura, a 12-year-old almost Chunin. The relationship between the two is unknown as they try and make themselves just friends while avoiding the heart break that's bound to come. The line between helping someone and hurting them never seemed so thin. _[Pairing: Sakura X Itachi]_

…

_I've convinced everyone that I didn't like you. Now I just need to convince myself that._

…

If Itachi Uchiha had ever really thought about his relationship with Sakura Haruno, he would have most likely classified it as 'Awkward'. He had never really thought about it though, leaving that discovery for a later date. The only time he actually truly thought about the pinkette was when she occupied the same room as him, when his brother was complaining about her again, or occasionally when some idiot would, for some reason unknown to him, bring her up.

"Damn," His partner said, uttering a chuckle that was decidedly lascivious. "If that Sakura Haruno was older I would so totally date her."

Itachi paused before turning to his partner on the mission, Hikaru, wondering if he had heard correctly. His dark eyes briefly flickered red as they narrowed on the boy. He was mostly pissed at him for interrupting the silence, which had been the first Itachi had the opportunity to revel in for the entire mission. "What?" The words came out calmly as they were wont to do coming from him. However, they were intended as a warning-as any intelligent person would have been able to discern. However, the intelligence of his partner was greatly debatable at that point in time.

"I said I would totally date Sakura Haruno if she was older. I mean, at first the pink hair is kind of a turn off, but then if you think about it, it's exotic! And her eyes-damn those things are pretty! Even though she's only twelve she has some curves going on and-"

_SMACK! _

The loud crack echoed in the silence as Hikaru's head swung to the side at the force of Itachi's blow_. _Hikaru rubbed his head and scowled at Itachi. "Man, don't be so harsh just because she's your little bro's teammate. I'm only sixteen, so that's only four years older than her."

If Itachi wasn't good at hiding emotions, he would have snorted at the last statement. He wanted to point out that being four years older than her made him seem a bit like a pedophile since he'd be eighteen when she was fourteen. Of course, though, Itachi remained silent. He then wondered why he had even bothered to smack him for bringing up Sakura.

It wasn't like they were close...

Okay, maybe, kind of, in the way, she spent a lot of time at the Uchiha compound. That was just because she was _Sasuke's _teammate.

A small bell rang in Itachi's mind saying that they hadn't been teammates for more than two weeks but he ignored it.

And maybe since he had been a bit like Sakura's mentor when they were both younger, so even after he stopped really paying attention to her, she still continued to come over and help Mikoto out with the compound and garden.

But that was beside the point. When they got back to Konoha, he was going to demand (Without raising his voice one bit) that he never have to watch over an immature teenager who has a weird fetish for Sakura again.

…

Sakura Haruno retreated back into her room after coming home from training, falling onto her plain white bed. The bed threw her up into the air for a millisecond before she fell back onto the bed once more. A small sigh escaped her mouth as she pondered the day's training. She was so much weaker than Sasuke and Naruto, even if Naruto wasn't as coordinated as her. She then frowned at this thought. She told herself that she was tired from training, and exhaustion was taking it's toll on her processing simple things. Laying down on her bed, she let herself get lost in the covers. Before her eyes slid shut, she caught sight of a red ribbon. The one Itachi gave her for her sixth birthday.

Shaking the thoughts of him for her head, she pulled herself back up and made her way out of the house to get some groceries.

…

Itachi had just been debriefed after his mission and was currently swiftly and silently walking through the market to pick up some tomatoes for Sasuke when he heard a argument going on.

"But sir! I paid for these!"

"No you didn't girl! I'd remember selling groceries to someone with _pink _hair!"

… Pink hair?

Itachi gave an inaudible sigh and began to take long strides towards the voices. There was Sakura, standing far below the tall merchant who held two bags full of stuff far above her reach.

"But sir, I really did! I gave you all my money and-"

The man growled. "I don't tolerate thieves, especially lying ones! I'll call the guards and-"

Itachi, sighing, made his presence clear. "Sir, I do think there's no need to go that far." He said in his silky smooth voice that bespoke of his upbringing. Pulling out his wallet, he began to count the correct amount of money.

"Ne! Itachi, you don't need to pay for this!" Sakura exclaimed eyes going wide.

Either he didn't hear her, or was just ignoring her, he handed the man the money who in return gave him the bags, still glaring at Sakura. After he had the bags in his possession, he began to make his way away from the market, no longer feeling like buying tomatoes for his brother.

Trailing after him and trying to keep up, Sakura called out after him. When he finally stopped, Sakura was panting slightly. She bowed her head quickly. "I'm so sorry Itachi!" She exclaimed, her head still bowed. He sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

… Honestly, what was up with this girl?

"Well, you can at least come back to the compound and help with dinner." He said, turning away and walking again.

Sakura trailed after him, noticing that he was still carrying her bags and let herself smile at this.

…

Mikoto was more than pleased to see that Itachi had come home from his mission, especially since a flustered Sakura followed him.

"Welcome home Itachi!" She said with a bright smile. "And nice to see you to Sakura!"

"Hello Mikoto-san." Sakura called back.

Mikoto made a 'tsk' noise as she shook her head. "How many times have I told you that you can call me Mikoto, Sakura?"

Sakura gave the older woman a sheepish smile and a slight shrug. "A lot."

Making her way to the kitchen where Mikoto was currently beginning to pull stuff out for dinner, Sakura asked slightly nervous, "May I help with dinner Mikoto-san?"

Ignoring the -san, Mikoto exclaimed, "Of course Sakura! Tonight we're having Onigiri, Miso soup, Yakizakana, fried rice…" As Mikoto went on, Sakura mentally slapped herself for forgetting that she was back at the Uchiha's home, and they weren't just having just sushi and Onigiri for dinner.

Meanwhile, Itachi laughed silently at the young girl as he made his way to his room.

…

Itachi was putting away his stuff when Sasuke came sulking into the room. "Should I ask why Sakura's downstairs cooking?" He asked.

"I helped her out today, so she came over to repay me." Itachi said nonchalantly.

Sasuke gave a small snort. "I swear, sometimes I think _you _spend more time with her than I do-and I'm her teammate." He then left, leaving Itachi alone to ponder his words. He and Sakura were no closer than her and Sasuke.

...At least that's what he thought.

…

As Sakura and Mikoto finally finished placing the food on the table, the two boys came to the dining room and took their places at the table.

"Itadakimasu!" They all said before beginning to eat.

Sakura's eyes traveled around the table, a puzzled frown furrowing her brow. "Where's Fugaku-san?" Sakura asked, noticing the Uchiha leader missing.

"He had a mission, so he won't be back for a while," Mikoto said frowning a bit as well.

The words made Sakura think of things that she had never once considered. Having a shinobi mate would have to be a difficult thing-especially when they went on missions. "Aren't you lonely?" Sakura questioned, then blushed realizing that she might have overstepped her bounds.

Mikoto, not at all minding the question, shook her head. "I am sometimes, but since it is part of his life to be a ninja, I don't mind."

Sakura thought for a second. "Well, I'm not needed around my own house, so maybe if you didn't mind, I could help around the compound until Fugaku-san comes back?"

Mikoto smiled brightly at the girl. "Of course Sakura! I would love it!"

Sakura gave Mikoto a small smile. She was glad to be able to make the older woman happy after all she had done for her.

As she turned back to her food, she locked eyes with Itachi for just a split second, but it was enough to make her face heat up in embarrassment. She quickly lowered her head, hiding the blush.

Itachi, not quite sure why Sakura had almost immediately broken eye contact, stared at the girl for a while longer until he felt Sasuke elbow him in the ribs. Itachi turned his head and looked at his younger brother with one brow arched quizzically.

"Quit staring at my teammate like a pedophile." Sasuke whispered harshly.

"That's disgusting. She's seven years younger than me." He retorted. Itachi could see Sasuke roll his eyes and had to control the urge to roll his as well. He had no idea why his brother insisted upon this 'pedophile' nonsense where Sakura was concerned.

"Well, then, don't stare at her like that. It's creepy and people are going to get the wrong idea."

Glancing over at the roseate haired girl as she poked at her food a bit before eating it and smiling brightly, he frowned slightly.

_Who would ever think that I'd ever take interest in a girl seven years younger than me, let alone one with pink hair and weird habits?_

Continuing on with his meal in the state of mind that his brother was just trying to annoy him, he paid no further attention to the idea.

…

Sakura and Itachi had dish duty, leaving the two in an awkward silence as Itachi washed and Sakura dried and put away.

They had never had a real conversation since the time Sakura was seven and a half, when Itachi finally explained to her why he didn't 'play' with her anymore. After that, even though she was still young, they had avoided all contact with one another.

"So," Sakura asked, clearing her throat. "How was your mission?'

"It was completed successfully and we had no problems," Itachi said in a monotone voice.

Sighing, Sakura shook her head. She knew that this was his way of shooting down a conversation, by giving business like answers to everything.

Much to her surprise though, he did ask her a question. "Did you pay for those groceries at the market?"

Sakura almost dropped the dish she was holding, astounded by the question. "Of course I did! I would never try to steal something! Did you think I didn't?"

Instead of answering her question he just said, "Hn," and gave his undivided attention to the dishes in front of him.

They continued on with the dishes, not saying another word to each other.

She couldn't believe that he had actually thought she had tried to steal the stuff.

_I mean, _she thought, _I thought he knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't steal anything!_

A small frown settled upon her face. He _didn't _know her. He was the nineteen year old brother of her was a young man. He was a Uchiha, a royal clan of sharingan wielders and excellent ninjas.

She was the twelve year old teammate of his younger brother. She was just a young girl. She was a Haruno, not a clan or anything amazing, just a last name.

_They had nothing in common._

It was the bitter reality that as long as she knew him, maybe even as well as _she _knew _him_, he wasn't going to know her. Because even though she may be on the same team as Sasuke, Sasuke still didn't know her very well either.

So there was no way that his older brother, whom she was not really associated with through anything besides Sasuke and a past he had chosen to forget about, would know who she really was.

Itachi didn't bother to pay attention to the things this particular weak little ninja did, that was one thing she was pretty sure about.

As she dried that last dish and put it away, she regretted offering to come over to the Uchiha's to help Mikoto.

But she wasn't going to take back an offer. No, she would come and help out and probably forget all about this realization about her relationship-or the lack thereof-with Itachi, and continue on living like an useless little girl with obnoxious bright pink hair.

"I'll be taking my leave now." She said, giving a small, slightly forced smile. Mikoto hugged her and she waved goodbye to Itachi and Sasuke. She was already a few steps out the door when Itachi came out carrying her two grocery bags. "Here, you forgot these." He said, holding them out for her to take.

"Thank you Itachi." She said before walking away, not turning back to look at him watch her retreating figure.

Because what did she care about how well he knew her?

…

Itachi knew he had said the wrong thing. He had made is seem like he thought she had actually been trying to steal those groceries, even though he knew that she never would. He could tell this not only from her leaving right after they finished the dishes, but by the way she said, 'Itachi,' even though she was using a first name, made it sound like she was saying, 'Uchiha-sama.' It made him want to tell her he knew she wasn't trying to steal the groceries, but he had remained a totally heartless man and had watched her leave without saying or doing anything to let her know that he believed in her. Running slim fingers through silky locks he returned back into the house.

He could hear his mother humming from the kitchen, where he knew she was making sure everything was put away properly even though she knew they had done it right after many years of practice.

Hearing him come back in, Mikoto called out brightly, "Aren't you excited about Sakura spending more time over here?"

"Hn." He said before heading to his room. He passed Sasuke as he was heading down one of the halls.

"Itachi," Sasuke said, making Itachi stop. He didn't bother to turn around and look at Sasuke. He figured it would say something frivolous that could truly wait until another time, but he would wait and listen because that was what he did. "Remember that Sakura's a person with feelings."

Itachi, though he did not show it, was confused at his little brother's words. Of course he knew that she was a person and she had feelings. What did that have to do with anything?

Not bothering to reply as Sasuke walked away, he headed to his room thinking that his brother had forgotten that he was the Itachi Uchiha, and he knew just about everything,

…

Entering her small house Sakura began to put the groceries away. Hearing the creaking of the floor boards, Sakura turned quickly only to see her mother, Sayuri, looking worn out.

"Hello Sakura," She said in a tired voice.

Setting what she was holding down, she hurried over to her mother and took her hand into hers. "Mom, you need to get to bed. You're weak; you need your rest." Ushering her mother into the next room where a sleeping mat was sprawled out on the floor, Sakura grabbed the bottle of pills that lay beside it. Sighing as she noticed the same amount of pills as there were in the morning, she poured two into her hand. "You need to take these so you'll get better soon." She handed them to her mother, whom swallowed them almost reluctantly.

Sayuri sighed, shaking her head. "You make it sound like I'm critically ill Sakura. I'm just a bit weak for now; there's nothing to worry about."

Sakura chewed her lip before replying. "I know that it's nothing serious, but it can't be good if by the end of a fairly slow day you're so worn out. I'm afraid that what if you don't get better?"

Her mother laughed and patted the worried girl's head. "My dear Sakura, these are just probably just allergies or symptoms from the flue I had a while ago. By the time the month is out, I'll be able to work full time again and now be completely exhausted. It's just taking a bit longer than usual, that's all."

"Well, if you say so. But now is not the time to be discussing this, get some sleep." Sakura said as her mother laid down.

Sakura studied her mother with a watchful eye. There was a pit in her stomach, one of guilt, of how she couldn't help the ill woman anymore than to cook her food and giver her pills. After Sayuri's breathing had evened out, Sakura stood up and headed back into the kitchen where she finished putting away the groceries.

Allowing her mind to wander, Sakura made her way to the bathroom where she washed her face and got ready to go to sleep. Crawling into her own bed after switching off the lights, Sakura stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. When she was little, she hated the quiet. It always allowed her thoughts to become crystal clear when a lot of times all she wanted to do was escape those thoughts. She also hated the lack of noise because she spent too much time in it.

Now she was beginning to hate it again. How silence loved to taunt her.

…

"Sakura-chan!" A voice called as Sakura turned to see the unmistakable blonde boy in the orange jumpsuit running towards her. Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly as she prepared herself for the inevitable actions that she would have to take. Right as he was about to smother her in one of his big, bear-like hugs, she slammed her fist down on his head. "Baka! We're in public!" She hissed at Naruto as he rubbed the bump that was beginning to form on his head.

Letting out a sigh, she began to walk off again leaving Naruto stranded on the ground. "Wait up Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he quickly got up and ran after his rather feisty teammate.

Naruto talked the whole way to the training grounds, making Sakura want to punch off his head. But then again…it was good to have something distracting her from her own thoughts .Finally reaching the training grounds, Sakura wasn't surprised to see Sasuke leaning against a tree and Kakashi nowhere in sight.

Within seconds, Naruto and Sasuke were bickering. Not bothering to pay any attention to the two, Sakura sat down rather abruptly. She fell more than sat, allowing herself to hit the ground rather hard. She leaned against the cherry tree, which was still leafless from the winter.

Her eyes flickered around the training field, for once not feeling the urge to try and show off to Sasuke. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she tilted her head up at the sky, which was blanketed in soft gray clouds. _Would it rain today_? She wondered briefly before she allowed her mind to go blank as her eyes began to drift shut, sleep tugging at the corner of her mind. She didn't know how long she sat there, gazing out into space.

Finally, Kakashi came, breaking her out of her daze. Naruto was complaining about how he was always late as she stood up and brushed some dirt off.

"Come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto called.

She smiled slightly to herself, the blonde, as much as she hated to admit it, was a pretty good friend. "I'm coming baka!"

_..._


End file.
